Friends fighting for a friend

Benefit will help cancer victim.

Benefit will help cancer victim.

September 21, 2006

Donnie Dikes is fighting for his life, diagnosed with cancer. His friends are not willing to let him fight alone. The Crew and Friends of Donnie Dikes will sponsor a benefit for him Saturday from 1 to 7:30 p.m. The event is at Amvets Post 66, 1606 W. Western Ave., South Bend. The donation will be $5. His friends hope to help him raise money for his cancer treatments. Dikes, 50, who is married to Mary and has four children, has been employed by the city of South Bend for 30 years. Working for the Sanitation Department, Dikes, up until his sickness, made sure the downtown and other areas of the city were free of trash and debris. "Donnie is known to most everyone around town," said his brother, Kevin Dikes. "He has a great sense of humor and loves to make people laugh. "He loves sports and basketball is his favorite. He's a good guy." Alex Watson, David Carrell and Champ White are organizers of the event. They said they hope people will stop by and show some love for this wonderful man. "I've know Donnie a long time and he's determined to fight this thing," Watson said. "The Crew (organizers) just want to raise some money to go to our friend and brother. It's just our way to show support for this man who has contributed a lot to this community." Champ White added, "Everybody understands that when you miss a day of work, it stinks. But after working for years and then not being able to any more, well, the brother needs a pick-me-up." "When I first heard about it, I knew I wanted to do something to help," Watson said. "I'm hoping for a big turnout." Event organizers said they hope to raise $1,000, but they think they may double that amount if people show up. There will be free food at the benefit as long as it lasts along with 50/50 Raffle & Tip Boards and a cash bar. Donations also can be made to the Donnie Dikes fund at Teachers Credit Union, account number 196904-4. *** Sam Henderson, of Mishawaka, who considers himself a "concerned citizen," spoke with a group at the Martin Luther King Center in South Bend on the five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, comparing the attacks and Hurricane Katrina. For Henderson and some of those gathered, unfortunately, Sept. 11 seems to be a white day of suffering while the Katrina anniversary wears a black face. "It still surprises me to this day that black Americans are virtually nonexistent in the memorializing of 9/11 and the horrifying disaster at the World Trade Center," he said. "I know there had to be knowledgeable workers as well as regular black workers who were working at the Trade Center at the time. "My question is, why haven't their relatives been interviewed on television and the newspapers like everybody else?" The Katrina disaster, from 2005, is more recent yet it seems to receive less attention, he said. He also was critical of the response to Katrina compared with Sept. 11. He said Katrina struck a region with a large black population as well as poverty and underdevelopment. "Because of all this, these people were left unattended and left to die and fend for themselves," Henderson said. He and Billy Moore, of South Bend, agreed that both tragedies can serve as learning experiences. In both cases, common Americans were willing to risk their lives and contribute their own money to help victims and their families. The pain can help bring everyone together, but only if people are treated fairly, they said. Listen to May Lee Johnson live at 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays on WUBS, 89.7-FM.Staff writer May Lee Johnson: mjohnson@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6326